X-Message-Number: 24086
From: "Mark Plus" <>
Subject: Arizona paper joins fight for documents on frozen Splinter
Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 08:42:39 -0700

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=22269

Arizona paper joins fight for documents on frozen Splinter
By Tom Farmer
Monday, May 10, 2004

An Arizona newspaper has joined the daughter of Ted Williams in a court 
battle to view documents held by a cryonics lab where Williams has been 
frozen to determine if he legally consented to have his remains stored at 
the controversial facility.

     The Arizona Republic filed a motion late last week in Arizona Superior 
Court to unseal documents filed by Alcor Life Extension Foundation in 
response to a civil suit filed by Williams' daughter, Bobby Jo Ferrell, 
seeking to force Alcor to produce documentation proving that her father's 
remains were legally given to the Scottsdale cryonics lab.

     ``They claim to be in compliance with the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act 
but they want to hide everything they've done and they want to hide 
everything in the court file,'' Ferrell's attorney, John Heer, said of Alcor 
yesterday.

     Ferrell has long wanted to claim her father's remains and have him 
cremated based on his original will, but the Splendid Splinter's body went 
to Alcor after his death in 2002.

      Ferrell's half-brother, John Henry Williams, who died of leukemia in 
March, reportedly obtained his father's approval to be placed at Alcor after 
his death. John Henry's will states that his remains be kept at Alcor.

     Although Ferrell gave up her right to claim her father's remains as 
part of a $215,000 settlement with his Florida estate, Heer is seeking to 
examine her father's contract with Alcor to see if it conforms with the 
Anatomical Gift Act.

     If Heer can prove Ted Williams was sent to Alcor without his written 
permission, he hopes to circumvent Ferrell's agreement with her father's 
estate and lay claim to the baseball Hall of Famer's remains.

     Attorneys for Alcor have filed their responses and an affidavit 
opposing Ferrell's motion under seal. The Republic, citing public access 
laws, has joined Heer's effort to have the Alcor court filings unsealed.

     ``Alcor has taken steps that are absolutely unheard of to seal the 
entire court file,'' said Heer. ``This is not your normal court situation so 
it's going to be interesting to see what happens. Stay tuned.''

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